


Backpedal

by grarnarye



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Akane tries to solve things with brute force, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Time Loop, it doesn't work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-03-25 07:25:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13829325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grarnarye/pseuds/grarnarye
Summary: Whatever the future held for them was uncertain, yet Akane and the others proudly took steps toward the unknown.Then, the unknown became known, and Akane wanted nothing more than for it to juststop.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story about how Akane Owari becomes the main protag/rival to Hajime in the game, similar to what was planned for her in the beta stages of development. I personally feel like Akane had a good amount of wasted potential, so this is what came out of a desire to see her grow.

   Akane Owari looked around at her friends for one last time.

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, who she liked to call "gangsta baby". He was feisty, rude at first, but it turned out he was a good kid at heart.

Kazuichi Soda; somehow, that guy was smart and also dumb as rocks at the same time, and his reactions to the past couple hours were a little too comical to feel real. However, he made it here with all of 'em. Not to mention Hajime likes him, so he can't be that bad.

Sonia Nevermind. A princess of Novo...whatever, she revealed that she had a fun side to her, and Akane thought she was pretty great.

And... Hajime Hinata. Apparently, he was the "Ultimate Hope". And damn, did he earn it; he pulled em all out of despair and somehow defeated that weird-ass AI in the process.

    These 4... these were her friends. They'd all sacrificed so much, but in the end, they were willing to make a future for themselves, whatever it took.

    As she could felt her conciousness fade away and the world around her turned into a pixelated mess, she gave one last bright, genuine smile to the group. Thanks to Hajime, her confidence was soaring, and somehow s  he kne w  
e v e r y t  h  i  n g  
w   o  u      ld     b   e        
o            k           a             y

* * *

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* * *

    When Akane woke up, she couldn't really place where she was. Not only cause it was a pretty feautureless room (hallway?), but her head hurt like a bitch.

    Shaking her head vigorously, she tried to piece together how she got here. She had accepted a letter from Hopes Peak Academy, and she was standing in front of the school when--  
...Wait, what?

    She quickly shot up from her laying position, and with a kick, was on her feet. This did nothing to lessen her now pounding headache, but instinct overrode any pain she currently felt. "Alright, this must be the final step, and then I can wake up from the simulation," she declared to no-one in particular. Despite her unease at her previous thought process, she psyched herself up, she reached for the door and pushed with all her might. A white light enveloped her, and she walked forward with confidence, entering...

    A classroom.  
    A classroom?  
    A classroom. With all of the people who died, alive and well. Even Chiaki.

_Chiaki?_

    That thought was quickly pushed out of her head as 50 others replaced it in Akane's head despite the throbbing pain. The one that eventually came out was: "Damn, that was fast!"

    Most of the others turned their head to look at her, all of them wearing a confused expression. She hears a scoff, and as the Ultimate Impostor began to speak, she figured it came from him. "What are you talking about?"

    Akane's face scrunched in confusion for a second. However, her expression quickly turned into a cocky grin as she realized; they must not remember their time in the simulation. That made sense, since their avatars were deleted or something. Whatever Junko said. 

    "Oh, so ya don't remember? Well, don't worry your little head about it! I bet that Makoto guy is gonna come in here and explain it to all of ya soon."

    "Makoto? Who the fuck is that?" she recognized the unmistakable voice of Fuyuhiko, and she turned her head as she said, "That's the name of the guy from the... woah!" Now that Akane spared more than a glance at Fuyuhiko, she noticed that his bad eye was completely healed. She walked briskly up to him and clapped him on the shoulder, ignoring his visible flinch. "Yo, they fixed your eye up? That's awesome, baby gangsta!"

    Fuyuhiko's face contorted with anger. "W-wh-- you-- What the fuck did you just call me!?"

    "Baby gangsta. That's what I always call ya. Don't tell me you forgot!"

    "I don't even know who you are. Just-- Get the fuck off me before I hurt you!" Fuyuhiko roughly shrugged out of Akane's grip and sulked to a corner of the classroom.

    Akane's grin fell. Fuyuhiko didn't remember her either? Then... did that mean she was the only one that remembered anything? She'd have to ask Makoto if there was a way to recover their memories or something.

    There was an awkward silence between the group as Akane tried to process the situation. Eventually, a voice that was unmistakably Hajime's spoke: "So... why are we here? Is this some sort of entrance ceremony or something?"

    "I was just thinking about discussing that matter with everyone. After that girl's entrance, it seems that we're all here, so we might as well."

    Ibuki slammed her hands on a desk and leaned forward. "Eh?! This is everyone?! How do you figure that, huh?"

    "There are sixteen desks in this classroom. Now that she's here, there are sixteen of us." the fake Byakuya let a condescending look bore through Ibuki as he continued, "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

    A knot formed in Akane's stomach. Her legs suddenly felt like lead, and she felt like she wanted to throw up. Normally, she'd chalk up this reaction to not eating for an entire day, but that couldn't be it. A question kept repeating itself: Why is everything so similar to before? She had to speak up to stop this madness. With a start, the gymnast pounded her fists together and yelled, "Don't tell me none of ya remember what we're here for?! You gotta be kidding me!"

    The impostor seemed taken aback, if just for a moment. He quickly composed himself and glared at Akane. "Do  _you_ know what's happening? Are you responsible for bringing us here?"

    "She has been acting kind of strange since she showed up in here. Perhaps she can shed some light on this situation." Nagito spoke up, though he sounded considerably more calm than the condescending crazy the gymnast had gotten used to.

    "M-maybe we were k-kidnapped..." Mikan's timid voice came up next.

    Akane couldn't hide the growing exasperation in her voice. "No, ya got it all wrong! We were all--"

    The voice she was never expecting to hear again suddenly cut her off. "Ah, you're wrong. This isn't anything like that."

    "What was that just now?"

    "Hey, fatass. Why'd you make that cutesy voice just now?"

    "I won't dispute your blunt remark about my weight, but that voice you just heard was not mine..."

    Akane felt her mouth moving before her brain registered; "...Huh? Then... is that--"

    The voice responded again. "Um... it's actually mine!"

    Nekomaru's voice boomed. "Who's there!? Where are you!?" His shouting was as sudden and boisterous as it usually was, but his response was still expected. It was the exact same response as a few weeks ago. _Like he's reading a script_ , Akane thought. A chill ran down her spine, but before she could begin to think of the implications--

    "All right! I see everybody has arrived! Let's begin!"

    Everyone turned their heads to the teacher's desk, the supposed source of the noise. After a moment, the front of the class room was flooded with a blinding pink light. As it seemed to twirl and spin, a shape began to take form in the ball of light. With a swoosh, the light seemed to burst and then dissipate, leaving behind a white bunny on the desk, holding a toy stick.

    The gymnast wasn't sure whether to laugh or scream. Was the Future Foundation pulling a prank or something? Why was everyone acting like they didn't know what was happening?  
"What... is that?"

    "Um... it looks like a stuffed animal..."

    "That's right. I am a squeezably soft stuffed animal." Alright, this whole charade was beginning to piss Akane off. "Magical Ma--"  
    Akane cocked her head up and shouted, "Hey, Usami!"

    "Hawawa!" The A.I. rabbit jumped back a bit, falling out of her "magical girl" pose and onto her butt. "S-students, please calm down..." What Akane actually said finally seemed to register "W-wait, you said my name! How did you know?" She'd never seen a toy sweat so profusely before.

    "I know cause you told us all this before! What kinda prank are ya trying to pull?! When are they gonna get their memories back?!" Akane advanced toward Usami with each question, and now she was standing right in front of the desk, looking down at a distressed Usami.

    "M-memories...? I-I have no idea what you're talking about! I'm sorry!"

    "Whaddaya mean you have no idea? I'm talking about their memories from the game!"

    "Hey, uh..." Kazuichi's voice sounded unsure as he began, "Does anyone know what this chick is talking about? Did we lose our memories or something?"

    Before Akane could respond, Usami quickly got up and jumped atop Akane's head. "Ah, no! She must be confused! You're all Hope's Peak Academy students here on a school trip!"

    "School trip...?" the impostor asked.

    Now it was Akane's turn to interrupt. She snatched the toy bunny off her head (who emitted a noise akin to a squeaky toy upon being grabbed) and held it in front of her. "Listen up, Usami. This whole re-enactment or whatever is startin' to piss me off. Why's everyone in a classroom again? How did ya fix baby gangsta's eye? What's Chiaki doing here? Why is everyone else acting like this is just normal?!"

    "Hawawa! P-please don't hurt me! If you do, I'll have to punish you using my magic stick!"

    "What are you gonna do, magic me to death? I'll do whatever I want with ya if it gets some answers!" Bristling with confused rage, she reeled her fist back and--

    She felt a gentle but firm hand placed on her shoulder. she looked back at who interrupted her, glaring with the energy of a hundred suns, and found Chiaki giving her own stare somehow just as strong. "What do ya want?"

    "Please don't do this." Her voice was as soft as ever, but there was a cold hardness to it and her mouth was pulled into a deep frown.

    "You're tryin' to tell me to stop? You guys need to stop this joke or whatever. It's just cruel!"

    "A-a cruel joke...? W-w-what is she t-talking about?" Akane didn't spare a glance, but she could tell from Mikan's voice that she was visibly trembling. Akane's grip tightened, and Usami let out another squeak.

    "This girl's acting pretty fuckin' suspicious."

    "Maybe we should all just calm down and evaluate the situation." Sonia declared from somewhere. Akane whipped her head to look at the princess.

    "Are you telling me you don't remember the Future Foundation?" Chiaki's grip tightened like a vice on her shoulder. "We're all in a simulation, remember?"

    The tension in the room increased to a palpable level as she shouted those words. As she looked around, everyone glanced at each other, confusion and fear evident in the way they were carrying themselves.

    "O-oh dear..." Usami's words cut through the tension like a rusty knife. "I didn't wanna punish you, but it looks like I have to."

    "Wha--" Akane was cut off as Usami lightly bonked her in the head with her magic stick. Suddenly, her vision swam with static and harsh noise assaulted her ears. She opened her mouth to scream, and then everything went black.

* * *

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* * *

     Akane Owari woke up in front of the door for the third time.

 


	2. Chapter 2

    Akane Owari woke up in front of the door for the fourth time.

    In hindsight, she probably should've expected this; going for Usami immediately instead of asking her anything beforehand didn't answer any more questions, and she was pretty sure it didn't help her wake up from the perpetual nightmare that she was currently a part of. As she sat up and stretched her aching muscles (she's learned that being static-ified is pretty painful), she looked around. Weird digital hallway, a double door... Yup, that definitely didn't do anything.

    As she stretched her arms, she attempted to quell her frustration and wracked her brain about the current situation. From what she could tell, she was the only one who remembered anything about the Neo World Program. She tried to talk to Sonia and Kazuichi last time, and they only responded to her questions in confused denial. Though she could handle Fuyuhiko, she'd rather not get on his bad side in case he did remember anything, so she just left him alone. She didn't try to talk to Hajime, but he looked just as confused as anyone else, so she figured he didn't remember anything either, but...

    Akane looked up to the ceiling, finding a vast expanse of digitial mess. If the Future Foundation could hear her, it'd probably be now. They have cameras on her waiting for her to enter the door... or something. "What do ya guys want from me?" the gymnast shouted into the empty space. "Is this your idea of a divine punishment or some crap? What did I do wrong the first time!?" It was as much of a question to the Foundation as it was to herself.

    There was no response. Deep down, Akane didn't expect them to answer, but she still felt a twinge of despair spread inside her. However, as she reached for the door for a fourth time, she quickly shoved down that feeling. That isn't what Hajime would want for any of them.

* * *

  
    After Usami calmed everyone down from their initial panic of arriving on an unknown island, everyone left to go explore the available islands and introduce themselves. Most of them were content with leaving Hajime behind passed out in the sand. For a brief moment, Akane thought to head to the farm herself, but she quelled the odd urge and volunteered to stay behind. After a bit of resistance from Nagito, she was eventually left to her own devices with the unconcious student.

    The minutes ticked by like molasses. Akane quickly realized that waiting around with nothing to do was boring as all hell. She didn't want to leave the beach and risk Hajime waking up with no one to talk to, but the lack of anything but white sand and crystal blue sea made the gymnast's hand itch for something to do. Eventually, the urge overwhelmed her common sense and she resolved to punching a coconut off of the nearest palm tree. However, just as she took her first step towards her new objective, Hajime stirred in the sand.

    "Nngh..." Hajime's groan was barely audible as it overlapped with Akane's "oh crap!" as she changed her course to be next to Hajime's side.

    "Hey! Hey, Ha--dude!" she called out to Hajime as she stopped herself on a dime, kicking up sand in the process. "Are ya feelin ok?"

    "A-aaah!" Hajime shot up and scrambled backward in the sand. One moment, he was blacked out, and now he was staring in the face of a girl with the most intense aura he's ever felt. His eyes were wide, voice hoarse as he stuttered out, "W-what??? I mean--Yes, I'm fine!"

    "Really? Ya look like you've just seen a ghost!"

    "N-no, yeah, I'm ok... really." Hajime paused to look around "...I just want to be left alone, okay?"

    "What? No way! You look like a friggin' sheet or something. I can't leave you alone when you're like that."

    Hajime stayed silent at first, staring off into some nondescript direction. After a moment, he sighed, stood up and brushed himself off. "Alright, fine. But... what's going on? That rabbit thing said we're on a tropical island."

    "Yup! I dunno what's happening myself, but I think I could get used to this, ya know?" A knot in Akane's stomach formed at Hajime's exasperated reaction. She was blatantly lying to not only her friend, but herself. Some time ago, the ocean might've reminded her of relaxation, of seafood, of fighting with her old man.  But now all it made her think of was death. Blood, death, the voice of Nekomaru as he laid dying on a beach like this one. Suddenly, Akane felt like throwing up.

    Her expression must have soured, because Hajime's expression softened. "Hey, uh... are you alright?"

    "Yeah. Yeah, I... was just thinking! That's it," she half-lied. "We should probably introduce ourselves, yeah?"

    "...Introductions?"

    "Well, duh. If we're gonna be getting along in this place, we have to know who we are, right?"

    "I... guess that makes sense. Sure," Hajime said slowly. There was still a certain skepticism in his voice.

    "Alright! I'll start. Name's Akane Owari. I'm the Ultimate Gymnast." Akane extended a hand out, which Hajime reluctantly took.

    "I'm... Hajime Hinata. My talent is..."

    "Is what?" Akane raised an eyebrow. _Does he remember?_

    After a few moments of awkard silence, Hajime shook his head. "I... I can't remember right now." Akane's face fell, and Hajime quickly continued, "W-what? Is that a problem?"

    "Nah... not... not really. You'll probably remember it eventually, so don't sweat." _I hope._

    "...Right."

    "Alright. With that outta the way, let's go find everyone else! What do ya say?"

    "Wha--?" But Hajime couldn't ask any questions, as Akane took him by the arm and dragged him off at a sprint towards the barn.

* * *

  
  
    The gymnast mentally cursed as she made her way to the central island. She had almost managed to convince herself that the Foundation had somehow found a way to remove Monokuma from the program, that this second--technically fourth--shot was the program running as intended. But, unfortunately, that was wishful thinking. Just as she finished introducing everyone to Hajime, just as everyon began to relax, it happened again; the sky turned an ominous gray, the unmistakable grating pitch of the monochrome bear broadcast through the monitors, and now they were all forced to go to the park for reasons unkown to everyone but her.

    As soon as she set foot into the park itself, her skin bristled and her heartrate shot up like an animal sensing a faraway danger. She practically sprinted here as soon as the announcement finished, partly because of her shock and anger, partly because she wanted some time to think through her plan of action. She worked her brain a hundred miles a minute, attempting to recall the first time this happened. Monokuma showed up right after Hajime did, so he at least waited for everyone. She was thinking of beating his  fluffy head in as soon as he showed up, but that would just get her blown to smithereens by his bazooka, probably--

    "Hey... Akane, right?" Chiaki's quiet voice cut through the tense silence, shaking Akane out of her thoughts. As she looked to the source of the voice, the gymnast noticed that most of the people were slowly filing in by now; the impostor already took his chosen place and stood arms crossed, Chiaki right behind him. Fuyuhiko and Peko were walking fairly close together, Ibuki bounding past them, Mahiru following-- As Chiaki tapped her shoulder, she realized she zoned out again. Crap. She took in a deep breath.

    "Yeah. Akane's the name. Didja need something?" She replied as casually as possible.

    "Mm... I was just worried about this situation." She glanced past Akane for a moment.

    The gymnast flashed what she hoped was a carefree grin. "Worried? Heh, ya don't gotta worry about nothin'. I think I got it all figured out anyway."

    Chiaki's cheeks puffed out as her worried frown morphed into a pout. "That's not what I meant..."

    Just as she opened her mouth to reply, Usami popped out from somewhere, drawing everyone's attention. "Hey!! Where are you, you big meanie?" It kinda sounded like a threat, but the bunny's cutesy tone of voice really detracted from it. As everyone stared perplexed and/or amused, Hajime ran in, prompting Usami to continue.  (She guessed it was prompting anyway, if everything else was similar enough.) "Wh-where are you!? Where are you hiding!?"

    "H-hiding?" Hajime cut in, "Who are you talking to?"

    "Puhuhuhuhu!" The high-pitched laugh rang out in the park, coming from what felt like nowhere and everywhere all at once. Everyone looked around confused.

    "Hey-Hey! Where are you? Show yourself!"

    "AHHH-HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" The voice rang out once again, this time seeming to come from inside the park statue. Akane braced herself, and then...

    Monokuma shot out from the base of the statue like a wound up spring before landing with a thud. The beady eye on his white side seemed to bore into their souls, surveying each of them, the red eye glowing, unmoving.

    "Why, hello there! Thank you all for waiting!" The bear's voice cut through the crowd. "Long time, no see guys!" For a fleeting moment, Monokuma paused, tilting his head toward Akane's direction. Akane felt shock and anger bubble up insider her; but before she could interject, he raised a paw and continued, "I am Monokuma! The headmaster of this academy!" He hopped off the makeshift podium to address the group further.

    "Ahem, now that I've made my dashing appearance, the first thing I need to say is... This is so friggin' LAME! LAME LAME LAME! Lamer than the lamest lamesauce!"

    "Just as I thought! It was you!" Usami gripped her magic stick tightly. "But... how? Why is Monokuma here!?"

    Akane figured now was better than never to interject. "Yeah, that's what I wanna know, too!"

    "Aw SHAD-- wha? Who said that?" Monokuma had dropped the furious act, and was suddenly sweating profusely.

    "You heard me, ya friggin' bear!" Akane pounded her fist into her palm to emphasize the declaration. "You wanna call yourself the headmaster, but we only just met you! You expect us to believe whatever crap you're sayin?"

    "W-what the heck? The nerve on this one!" Monokuma's tone suddenly grew serious as he flashed his claws. "Talking back to your headmaster... you better watch what you say, missy."

    Usami began waving her arms wildly in a panic, waddling between the gymnast and the bear. "Hawawa! A-akane, please calm down! I don't want anything bad to happen to you!"

    "I can handle myself, Usami! I'll be fine!" Still, though, the idea of becoming a static mess wasn't too appealing to her. She'd rather not be punished--

    The info clicked all at once. Being punished was cause of the rules, and Monokuma hasn't given out new rules yet, so-- "I got it!"

    She heard Fuyuhiko scoff. "It's official. That girl's gone fuckin crazy." She elected not to pay attention to that quip; it wasn't like he could know anyway (even if he should, she reminded herself).

    "What? Got what? Did you get me a present?" Monokuma said, the grin on his black half widening.

 

    A beat.

 

    Akane stepped over the harmless Usami and cracked her knuckles. "Yeah, I got your gift right here... I hope you like fists!"

    Monokuma took a step back. "Uh oh."

    Akane threw her weight forward and something in her pocket binged and her fist collided with Monokuma's face--

    There was a sudden, screaming, burning pain in the right of her abdomen; like someone had just torn through her body with several knives. She groaned loudly in pain, gritting her teeth, and fell to one knee. Somewhere, she could hear people panicking ("Oh my god!" "What the FUCK?!" "A-aaah! S-s-she's r-really hurt!"), but the gash was screaming at her. Her vision was losing focus and everything sounded far away... and most importantly, Monokuma was nowhere to be found. "What the hell...?"

    "You know..." Monokuma's tone was full of pure rage, and Akane's eyes widened. Running on adrenaline, she forced herself to her feet as the bear kept talking. "When I said that you should watch what you say, I meant it."

    Blinking the unwillful tears out of her eyes, Akane turned to look at the robotic bear. He was none the worse for wear; in fact, his claws were out and dripping with neon pink and--

    Oh.

    "I haven't even said a word to any of you and your first instinct is to just try and beat me up?! You've got some real guts to be challenging me, especially when violence against the headmaster is against the rules!"

    "The rules...? But... you... ya didn't add that rule yet, ya damn liar!" Akane took in a raspy breath. She spared a look down at the wound. The blood was flowing freely out of the gash. Shit, she was losing a lot.

    "Puhuhuhu... or did I?" The gymnast staggered a bit as the bear giggled maliciously.

    "What... do ya mean...?"

    From the corner of her eye, she saw Mahiru blanch as she looked down at her tablet. "The rules... I-It says that violence against the headmaster isn't allowed."

    "Yup! That's 100 percent correct! And you know what I do to rulebreakers?"

    Akane's face quickly drained of all color. She anticipated this outcome, but she hoped that attacking Monokuma before he added the rules would prevent herself from getting punished. But of course the bear was always one step ahead... Her breathing quickened as the realization of her failure to beat Monokuma for the third time sunk in.

    The gymnast tuned out the rest of the exchange as she sank to her knees, trying to keep herself from crying. Monokuma said something about an execution; everyone was panicking; she was pretty sure Mikan and Usami tried to help; Usami cried out in anguish; the ground shook as a Monobeast landed in front of the group.

     _I'm gonna die and no one's gonna save me this time._

    Dread and despair overtook her body. She risked a look; she was staring down the barrel of a revving minigun, Monokuma sitting on top of the robotic beast wielding it. In the moment before her death, she only hoped that it would be quick.

    The gun fired. Akane felt the bullets tear painfully through every part of her body, and in the next instant, she was dead.

* * *

  
    The fifth time she woke up, she immediately collapsed. Her body screamed in agony and she brought her knees to her chest, failing to hold back painful sobs that shook her, each heave bringing a new wave of pain. She could feel her skin ripping like paper, the bullets burying themselves into every nook and cranny of her skin.

    The bullets and the scars and the blood may have been gone, but the pain Akane felt was still very, very real.  
   


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First thing's first: Thank you for the comments and kudos, everyone! It feels really good knowing that my writing is being enjoyed by everyone. I also appreciate those who are theorizing in the comments, and let me tell you you have a lot to look forward to.  
> Secondly, I apologize for the month-long wait. I honestly have no excuse for that except that I lost motivation for a little bit. But now I'm back, and I'll attempt to make the next chapter longer to make up for it.  
> That being said, enjoy the chapter!

   When Akane opened the double doors again, she entered the same classroom with the same people and the same skeptical atmosphere. The idle chatter between the students--some of which she could probably recite by memory at this point--slowly died down as everyone noticed her presence. They were all looking expectantly at her; probably wanted a greeting.  
  
    "Hey," she muttered hoarsely. She gave a non-committal wave to everyone. She didn't have the energy or the patience to say anything more, so she curtly sat herself down at a desk and crossed her arms.  
  
    "Hey... is the new girl okay?" Teruteru's uncertain voice sounded out. "She looks kind of shaken up..."  
  
    Akane had desperately hoped it wasn't too obvious that she had been crying and heaving for the past few hours, but her sunken eyes tinged with red and her disheveled hair (more disheveled than normal, anyway) gave her away. She kept her eyes trained onto the desk. "I'm fine," she said.  
  
    "Are you sure? You don't really look that good..." Kazuichi pressed.  
  
    "I'm fine," Akane repeated. Her voice cracked, and she clutched her arms tighter. She hated how weak she sounded.  
  
    "She's probably just worried about this peculiar situation. I would pay her no mind," The imposter said. "As I was trying to say..."  
  
    Akane tuned out the rest of the conversation, even as Usami appeared and the classroom opened up to the (fake) tropical beach. The sound of the (fake) ocean waves  overlapped with the general panic, and though people were either concerned or suspicious over Akane's lack of reaction, they generally left her alone. The gymnast only stood up when the (fake) desk she was sitting in disappeared from under her.  She ended up staying behind with the unconcious Hajime again; less by virtue of her own insistence and more that people agreed that leaving the strangely silent girl alone would be the best idea.  
  
    Before Hajime woke up, Akane opted to just sit in the sand to the right of him, knees pulled to her chest and her arms splayed out behind her. Freaking him out again would be kinda funny, but Akane wasn't exactly in the mood to be energetic. As a result, she resolved to fix up her appearance as best as she could. She was still attempting to fix her hair when Hajime stirred. With a groan, he sat up and observed his surroundings. He looked left, then right. Akane was there. He blinked.  
  
    Akane pulled her mouth into a wide grin that came out more wry than it was supposed to. "'Sup?"  
  
    Hajime clutched his head. "Nngh... what...?"  
  
    "Ya passed out, dude! You look a little out of it-- well, nah, we're all a little out of it 'cause of this whole thing," Akane said casually.  
  
    "...Right..." Hajime hesitantly got to his feet, and Akane followed suit. The boy shook his head. "Listen, just... leave me alone."  
  
    "No can do! You look like a friggin ghost," she replied. She attempted to keep a straight face afterwards; she said that the last time too. "What kinda person would I be to leave you alone like that?"  
  
    "..." Hajime furrowed his brow and didn't respond, his mouth pulled into a grimace. He looked past Akane to the bright palm trees behind her. "That rabbit thing... said we're on a tropical island, right?" His gaze turned to the cameras. "Are we... being watched?"  
  
   _Yes, we're being watched and the people watching probably fucked up_ , is what Akane wanted to say. What she said was, "Yeah, somethin' like that. It's probably no big deal." She couldn't hide her slight frown as she finished. She made a mental note to practice hiding her emotions later.  
  
    "Anyway, now that we got that stuff outta the way, why don't we meet the others?"  
  
    "The others...?" Hajime questioned. "I don't even know your name yet."  
  
    Akane mentally kicked herself. "Oh, yeah, my bad. Name's Akane Owari, Ultimate Gymnast."  
  
    "And I'm Hajime Hinata. My talent..." He was silent for a moment. "I... uh... I don't remember it."  
  
    Akane dismissively waved a hand. "Pssh, that's no big deal. You'll remember it later." Truthfully, she didn't want to waste any more time on a conversation that she's heard before, so she grabs Hajime's hand and pulls him towards the main path. "Come on, let's go talk to the others!"  
  
    "Hey, wait--!" But Hajime's weak protests didn't stop Akane in the slightest as she dragged him to the Rocketpunch Market.

* * *

  
  
     Introductions went off without a hitch. Nagito had decided to hang out near the farm, same as the last time. Akane had a passing thought that it was like the lucky student was replacing her, but it went as soon as it came. She was much more occupied by the introductions; mainly, the fact that they were practically a word-for-word repeat of the introductions of last time. She probably wouldn't have caught on if it were only one or two people that were so similar. However, every time one of them introduced themselves, they talked in the same way, made almost the same remarks about her or Hajime, and stood in the same places.  
  
    As a result, Akane got increasingly irritated and impatient with each person. By the time they got to the central island, she tried to rush the conversation with "Byakuya". Her constant urging to hurry up only made him angry, though. His eyebrow twitched in irritation in his best efforts to ignore her; eventually, one particular remark about his weight caused him to snap. He turned swiftly and gave Akane a several-minute long lecture about basic etiquette as Hajime helplessly looked on. Akane groaned audibly and briefly considered tearing her ears off, but Byakuya mercifully finished after only 5 minutes. Akane didn't have to drag Hajime away this time, the two of them walking away from the park as quickly as possible.  
  
    By the time everyone got back to the beach, Akane's muscles were aching horribly. Apparently running around an entire island only a few hours after getting shot in every conceivable part of her body tended to make her body disagree with her. Luckily, she had plenty of experience in dealing with dull aches, so she was mostly able to hide her pain. She thought the only one that might notice her slight stiffness was Nekomaru; though Akane had to remind herself that they've technically only talked once by now, so he likely wouldn't pick on it. She hated thinking like that--the fact that all of her friendships basically meant nothing--but just this once, she was grateful that no one could get on her case.  
  
    When Usami showed up with swimsuits for everyone, she didn't rush to get changed. This was true the first time too, but she had different reasons now.  Her muscles hadn't gotten any less sore in the short amount of time. She didn't want to do something stupid and get them to think she was weak.  
  
    "Th-there's no way I'm going swimming!" Akane was brought out of her thoughts by Hajime's outburst. "There's no way anyone would be so thoughtless as to go swimming in a situation like this..."  
  
    Usami was in the middle of stuttering out an apology when Ibuki's shout cut through the air. "YAAAHOOOOO!!"  
  
    "Eh?"  
  
    "Aw, yeah!" Kazuichi butt in, raising his arms behind his head. "With weather this nice, there's no way I'm gonna pass on swimming!"  
  
    Various voices rose up in agreement, and upon Nekomaru's declaration, everyone who wanted to swim ran off to the hotel to change. Akane looked around to see who stayed behind: Chiaki, Hiyoko, Fuyuhiko, the fake Byakuya, and herself. For a moment, Akane felt there was something missing, but she quickly pushed the feeling down. This whole thing was weird, of course she'd feel that way; however, she didn't want to dwell on it at the moment.  
  
    When a silence fell over the group, Akane scratched her head and sighed. "...So, what are you gonna do, Hajime?" Hajime didn't respond, so Akane continued. "I get how ya feel, and I won't force ya to do anything weird... But if you're up for it, you shouldn't let anything stop you, got that?" She pounded a fist to her palm for emphasis. She regretted the action as a new wave of pain shot up her arms, but she grit her teeth and let it pass.  
  
    ...Akane blinked. Why did she say that, exactly?  
  
    At any rate, Hajime seemed to consider her words, putting a hand up to his chin and casting his gaze to the sandy beach below them. Satisfied, Akane turned to Chiaki, who was currently stifling a yawn. "You're not gonna swim?"  
  
    The gamer closed a pastel pink eye as she rubbed at it. "I'm like, really really sleepy right now..."  
  
    Despite knowing that that was just a programmed trait, Akane was surprised that an AI could be so tired all the time. "Yeah, I guess it'd be a problem if you fell asleep while swimming, huh?"  
  
    "I'd probably drown."  
  
     _Not like it matters_ , Akane thought, but she said something else; "Ya shouldn't talk like that, ya know? No one's gonna die," Akane finished with a fake smile. The last statement seemed to rouse Chiaki's attention somewhat; she stopped rubbing her eyes and looked straight at Akane, tilting her head curiously. Suddenly, Akane felt like she probably shouldn't have said anything.  
  
    A low rumble that seemed to grow in strength tore Chiaki's attention away from Akane, and she breathed a small sigh of relief. The low rumble transformed into thumping footsteps and cacophonous chattering as the students flooded the entrance of the beach. Kazuichi let out a whoop as he sprinted into the water, Ibuki and Nekomaru following closely behind. Mikan nearly tripped over the sand several times on her way to the ocean. Gundham busied himself and his hampsters by making a sand castle; meanwhile, Nagito and Teruteru were smiling warmly and chatting with Nekomaru.  
  
    Akane's stomach turned. They were all having fun... jealousy and anger began to bubble up inside of the gymnast. All of them should know how pointless this was; all of them have gone through this exact same scenario five times by now, after all. And yet, they were all blissfully unaware of what was going to happen. It was like their deaths never happened at all. Like this whole thing didn't matter. The thought made Akane sick.  
  
    Surely there was some way to stop this, right?  
  
    Akane hardly registered Usami patting herself proudly on the stomach. "Yup, yup! I'm very happy! I thought this would be hard until everyone got used to this, but they're all acting like Ultimates!" The robotic rabbit raised her arm and shouted, "Let's keep up the pace and all do our best to peacefully enjoy this heart-throbbing school trip!"  
  
    Akane's anger gave way to uneasiness, and the knot in her stomach tightened. When the sky darkened and Monokuma's shrill, tinny voice rang out through the monitor, Akane practically felt the bullets tear through her skin anew. She was unable to suppress the slight trembling of her fists as she made her way to Jabberwock Park once more.


End file.
